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Description
“If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.” The shadows in the alley covered the man’s face, but his voice was hypnotic. It almost seemed to be pulling Miranda into the dark, confined space, closer to him.

“Come closer, I know the question is eating at you, making you want to answer more and more. You know you won’t be able to leave unless you guess. So come over.” Almost in a daze, Miranda felt her head begin to nod and her feet led her closer, drawn to the man’s lilting words. All she had to do was guess what was in his pocket. How hard could it be? Just a quick, simple guess then she could go home to feed her kids.

Miranda’s feet were now at the edge, where the sunlight ended and the darkness began. Two separate worlds, yet always side-by-side. Just one more step, just one more. Something urged her on, maybe it was the pull of wanting to know what the man had, or maybe, it was the feeling of the cold eyes staring down at her from a few heads above her own.

That final step forward was made and Miranda was practically chest to chest with the man, yet she did not back up. She felt no warmth around the man, just a cold, menacing air, and still she did nothing.

“Are you ready to guess? Guess correctly and you can keep it, but guess wrong and you will lose something of great value.” The man’s voice took on an almost childish excitement and he shifted from one foot to the other. “You have three choices and one hint, now go.”

Miranda felt her heart rate quicken as she racked her brain for a guess. Anything, anything could be in this man’s pocket. “Nothing?” the words escaped her mouth without thought and she looked up into shadows where she figured the stranger’s face was. A giggle escaped the darkness and a single finger wagged in her face. “That’s one guess down, two more to go.”

“A hint then.”

He paused for a moment. “It is white, cleaned, and if preserved correctly it could be as spotless as the freshly fallen snow.” The voice rose in pitch and sped up in excitement.

White? Like snow? Cleaned and preserved? “Pearls?”

A clap almost like mocking applause echoed through the alleyway. “Good guess but no.” The hand was shoved in her face again, but this time with two fingers raised. “Last guess Mrs. Miranda.” The voice started laughing with an almost insane excitement.

What was so funny?

The shadows behind Miranda were starting to extend and change shape.

It’s getting late. The kids must be hungry

Miranda’s heart sped even more, but she didn’t understand why. Something white and it needs to be cleaned and preserved to stay that way.

“Teeth?”

Once again the hand was pushed violently into Miranda’s face but with a third finger up. “Last guess and you’ve failed, you’ve failed to guess what was in my pocket, Mrs. Miranda Jones, and now I get to take something of importance from you. But being the generous individual that I am, I will give you a glimpse of the lost prize.”

There was a rustling of cloth against cloth and suddenly something blindingly white was in front of Miranda. The shadows of the alley seemed to dance around the hollow eyed sockets and forever grinning teeth of what was in the man’s hand.

Miranda stared into the dark emptiness before she felt a sharp slash against her throat. The last thing she saw were two grinning mouths, one with teeth sharpened to a point and one with teeth just like her own, laughing as she fell into darkness.

A scarred face looking out from its usual vantage point in the alley stared down at the woman standing in front of him, her eyes clouded. Empty infant bottles and toys lay scattered around the man’s feet from the woman’s fallen bag. The owner of the face felt its mouth widen in a gruesome smile and the warm saliva slowly dribble down its chin. In its pocket, it’s long, clawed fingers stroked the smooth, pearly white surface of its recently attained skull.

“If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.”

Description
“If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.” The shadows in the alley covered the man’s face, but his voice was hypnotic. It almost seemed to be pulling Miranda into the dark, confined space, closer to him.

“Come closer, I know the question is eating at you, making you want to answer more and more. You know you won’t be able to leave unless you guess. So come over.” Almost in a daze, Miranda felt her head begin to nod and her feet led her closer, drawn to the man’s lilting words. All she had to do was guess what was in his pocket. How hard could it be? Just a quick, simple guess then she could go home to feed her kids.

Miranda’s feet were now at the edge, where the sunlight ended and the darkness began. Two separate worlds, yet always side-by-side. Just one more step, just one more. Something urged her on, maybe it was the pull of wanting to know what the man had, or maybe, it was the feeling of the cold eyes staring down at her from a few heads above her own.

That final step forward was made and Miranda was practically chest to chest with the man, yet she did not back up. She felt no warmth around the man, just a cold, menacing air, and still she did nothing.

“Are you ready to guess? Guess correctly and you can keep it, but guess wrong and you will lose something of great value.” The man’s voice took on an almost childish excitement and he shifted from one foot to the other. “You have three choices and one hint, now go.”

Miranda felt her heart rate quicken as she racked her brain for a guess. Anything, anything could be in this man’s pocket. “Nothing?” the words escaped her mouth without thought and she looked up into shadows where she figured the stranger’s face was. A giggle escaped the darkness and a single finger wagged in her face. “That’s one guess down, two more to go.”

“A hint then.”

He paused for a moment. “It is white, cleaned, and if preserved correctly it could be as spotless as the freshly fallen snow.” The voice rose in pitch and sped up in excitement.

White? Like snow? Cleaned and preserved? “Pearls?”

A clap almost like mocking applause echoed through the alleyway. “Good guess but no.” The hand was shoved in her face again, but this time with two fingers raised. “Last guess Mrs. Miranda.” The voice started laughing with an almost insane excitement.

What was so funny?

The shadows behind Miranda were starting to extend and change shape.

It’s getting late. The kids must be hungry

Miranda’s heart sped even more, but she didn’t understand why. Something white and it needs to be cleaned and preserved to stay that way.

“Teeth?”

Once again the hand was pushed violently into Miranda’s face but with a third finger up. “Last guess and you’ve failed, you’ve failed to guess what was in my pocket, Mrs. Miranda Jones, and now I get to take something of importance from you. But being the generous individual that I am, I will give you a glimpse of the lost prize.”

There was a rustling of cloth against cloth and suddenly something blindingly white was in front of Miranda. The shadows of the alley seemed to dance around the hollow eyed sockets and forever grinning teeth of what was in the man’s hand.

Miranda stared into the dark emptiness before she felt a sharp slash against her throat. The last thing she saw were two grinning mouths, one with teeth sharpened to a point and one with teeth just like her own, laughing as she fell into darkness.

A scarred face looking out from its usual vantage point in the alley stared down at the woman standing in front of him, her eyes clouded. Empty infant bottles and toys lay scattered around the man’s feet from the woman’s fallen bag. The owner of the face felt its mouth widen in a gruesome smile and the warm saliva slowly dribble down its chin. In its pocket, it’s long, clawed fingers stroked the smooth, pearly white surface of its recently attained skull.

“If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.”